The factors promoting and inhibiting both
violence and non-violence have already been discussed. Violence
and non-violence or rather their expression is also related to
the various bodily postures. The yogic postures or asans
belong to an ancient branch of knowledge. They do much more than
ensuring healthy muscles and body. Their influence Is
far-reaching. They tone up the muscles, regulate the flow of
blood, improve the general functioning of the body and even
affect the nervous and endocrine systems. Thus they can be
helpful in controlling emotions.

Modem civilization has created a new situation
in so far as today our nerves are being subjected to enormous
pressure while the muscles remain relatively unexercised, which
is just the reverse of what was the case in the past - more
exertion of the muscles and no pressure on the nerves. The whole
tenor of present-day living is geared to maximum physical
comfort, thorough avoidance of manual work, and an
ever-increasing nervous tension and stress not only in business
and industry but practically in all walks of life. Thanks to the
increasing emphasis on the use of computers and robots, the
twenty-first century provides a much more dreadful prospect. The
authors of this bleak future seem to be totally oblivious of the
fact that their version of comfort will incapacitate the muscles
and make the nerves taut and tense. Man will be reduced to the
status of a mere pulley or piston in a huge machine.

The only way to reverse the above situation is
balancing physical ad mental labour. Yogasans or yogic
postures have the unique quality of bringing about a perfect
balance between the body and the mind. It has been stated earlier
that the excess of certain acids and chemicals makes men violent
and prone to crimes. It has been scientifically proved that yogasans
help regulate and balance their manufacture and discharge in the
body and thus effectively prevent crime and violence. From the
point of view of mental and emotional health we have singularly
failed in properly diagnosing the malady and therefore in finding
out a suitable remedy. Even when it comes to yogasans
there are people who do them just in order to improve the working
of the digestive, respiratory, circulatory or some other similar
system. Nothing wrong with this. However, it is much more
important to take care of the mind and even more that of the
emotions. Both the body and the mind are regulated by the
emotions. Therefore an emotionally rich person can never be truly
healthy. For it has been seen that even the best among the
physically well-built people can lose their nerve and become
totally distracted on being informed of an accident of a near and
dear one. Emotional instability renders physical strength
infractious. The question once again turn to finding the ways of
achieving emotional strength.

A very instructive case come to mind. The only
son of an industrialist was leaving home for higher studies.
Right in front of the father's eyes a speeding car hit and
crushed him underneath. The case went for a hearing before a
magistrate. It would not have been at all difficult to establish
that rash driving caused the boy's death. The father, however,
thought that whereas his son could not be brought back to life,
the family of the driver would be drowned in sorrow and ruined if
he was awarded capital punishment. He therefore told the court
that his son had died due to his own mistake and that the driver
was not at all responsible for the accident. Could such
compassion move the father without his being emotionally balanced
? Such a balance is possible only through a balanced discharge of
the endocrine glands. Yogasans help us control the
endocrinal flow.

It is now known that It is the adrenal gland
that creates excessive excitement, mental agitation, impatience
and such other negative trends which burst out in the form of
anger, violence and crime. By controlling the adrenals we can be
free from them. There is a yogic posture called shashankasan
which enables us to exercise control over the adrenals. Here it
is worth mentioning that the real causes of violence do not lie
outside us. As is well known, even wars originate in the minds of
men. Thus it is in the mind that the solution to violence has to
be found. There is a part of the brain that constitute the
emotions system. It is called hypothalamus, which is a part of
the limbic brain. Between it and the adrenal, pituitary and
pineal glands lies the secret of all types of violence. If we
break the circuit at any point violence can recede into the
background. This is what happened in the case of Emperor Ashok.
The very Ashok who was instrumental in killing hundreds of
thousands of men in the Kalinga war became an apostle of peace
and non-violence. Just a turn in the nervous-cum-emotional system
and extreme violence changed into absolute non-violence. I should
not be misunderstood at this point. There can be innumerable
causes of changes from violence to non-violence, not just the
practice of yogasans. However, these asans do play
an important role in this matter and are a potent means of the
desired transformation.

My purpose here is not to give a detailed
account of the various asans and their attendant benefits.
I have merely cited an example to prove their efficacy. I might
as well have mentioned the sarvangasan and its ability to
control and balance the working of the thyroid gland. The
important point is that yogasans bring about a balance in
the working of the nervous and endocrinal systems and amino
acids. Along with fasting they are also a means of expelling all
toxic and foreign matter from the body. Yogasans are for
this reason an intrinsic part of Preksha Meditation.